When He calls...
We are to answer...
When He ask's....
We are to answer...
When He commands...
We obey...
I promise to follow your commands God. I have heard your voice and i will obey your wishes, for your Will is mightier than my wants!
Compelled by His love,
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Communion is more than just a reminder of Jesus' Death!
For centuries, the Last Supper has been viewed as a reminder to all believers that God sent his Son to die for us.
In modern times, there are huge debates on what the Bible says in regards to how many times one is supposed to partake of communion.
Some say once a month, others say weekly.
Regardless of your viewpoint on this subject, there is still one concept or idea that I have never heard spoken about during communion.
And it's that the Last Supper is Jesus' call to action!
His death on the cross is Jesus' final earthly action to bring his kingdom here to earth!
He reminds us that when we engage in this meal we are to do it in rememberance of Him; that we are to remember that His goal while on earth was to bring His Father's kingdom here, now.
We are to remember that its our turn to bring the Kingdom to earth!
It's our turn to usher in a new kingdom, on the behalf of God.
It's our turn to show people the love of Jesus.
It's our turn to do when we have learned from Him.
Communion is more than just a reminder of Christ's death! It's a call to action. After all, could we really ever forget that Jesus died for us, if we claim to follow and believe in Him?
In modern times, there are huge debates on what the Bible says in regards to how many times one is supposed to partake of communion.
Some say once a month, others say weekly.
Regardless of your viewpoint on this subject, there is still one concept or idea that I have never heard spoken about during communion.
And it's that the Last Supper is Jesus' call to action!
His death on the cross is Jesus' final earthly action to bring his kingdom here to earth!
He reminds us that when we engage in this meal we are to do it in rememberance of Him; that we are to remember that His goal while on earth was to bring His Father's kingdom here, now.
We are to remember that its our turn to bring the Kingdom to earth!
It's our turn to usher in a new kingdom, on the behalf of God.
It's our turn to show people the love of Jesus.
It's our turn to do when we have learned from Him.
Communion is more than just a reminder of Christ's death! It's a call to action. After all, could we really ever forget that Jesus died for us, if we claim to follow and believe in Him?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
We are called to Love/ We are called to Justice
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconiliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are there for Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
Now, before we move on lets think about what the implications are of this bible verse.
It starts off by talking about the fact that anybody who claims to follow and believe in Christ is no longer to be the person they used to be. They are something new. Something with purpose.
When you get something new it is no longer old. When you buy a television you USUALLY don't keep the old remote. And IF you do keep the old remote eventually the remote no longer be capable of serving all the functions needed for the new television. In other words, it will no longer be purposeful.
The same is to be said when you start following Christ. You are no longer the same as you used to be. Thus, you don't do or engage in the same things as you used to!
Just like the remote, those old things of the old you are no longer capable of functioning with the new you that Christ bestowed you.
So, why do we keep the same old belief's about our selves?
The same old habits that we used to engage in?
Why do we hold to any rule or moral that is NOT of God?
The bible verse continues to talk about how God has reconciled humankind to Himself! Think about it, God sent Jesus to give us a new start!
To say, I forgive you and the life you feel trapped in is no longer capable of keeping you from being with me. Your sins are gone. He gave us a new life and told us to throw the old remote away!
He looked past all of the sins that have ever been committed against him and he said "You are my creation, I love you."
Then, through Jesus, God commissioned us, committed us to spreading this message of reconciliation to the rest of the world.
Here is how i see it, God gave us the choice to die to our selves, have our sins forgiven and then assume the task of spreading God's love and justice throughout the world.
Dying to ourselves doesn't end with our decision to believe in Christ. It doesn't end with going to church every Sunday to strengthen your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It doesn't end with our weekly bible study where we hide all our imperfections so that we are not shuned from the group. And it doesn't end with reading our bible every single day!
Being made a new creation starts with our decision to believe in Christ. It starts with our decision to move an ACTION oriented faith. In other words, one can only truly believe in Christ and follow him if they are will to be covered in HIS dust.
If you are to be of Christ, you must be willing to do as Christ. The bible was not around during the time of Jesus. They had the Torah.
Most of the Torah, our Old Testament, is about ACTION. It is about doing something, showing something, giving something. It's about bring the Love of Christ to those who aren't loved and the Justice of Jesus to those whom are oppressed.
Our new life, our new self is not about making sure you can enter heaven as the person who knows the most bible verse or who has the most detailed flannel-graph.
It's about sitting with the oraph who just lost both of their parents because of AIDS.
About cooking a meal for the widow who just lost her husband of 30 years and doesn't have any way of providing for her five children.
Bringing the love and justice of God is about standing up for what is wrong. For what is inhumane.
Loving somebody is more than just saying you love them. Why do you think God sent Jesus to die for us on the cross. Love is action, Justice is the result of that action.
Jesus was always doing something for somebody else. He will always be about doing something more!
Here is the scary thing, THOSE WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO FOLLOW CHRIST ARE THE EXAMPLES FOR GOD'S LOVE AND JUSTICE!
GOD has chosen to reveal himself to the world through US! Think about the complexity and the seriousness of that statement!
GOD HAS CHOSEN US TO bring LOVE AND JUSTICE to the world. Jesus commissioned us to do this!
So i ask you, Today, how are you going to bring honest and true love/justice to the world in which God has placed u?!
Blessings
Now, before we move on lets think about what the implications are of this bible verse.
It starts off by talking about the fact that anybody who claims to follow and believe in Christ is no longer to be the person they used to be. They are something new. Something with purpose.
When you get something new it is no longer old. When you buy a television you USUALLY don't keep the old remote. And IF you do keep the old remote eventually the remote no longer be capable of serving all the functions needed for the new television. In other words, it will no longer be purposeful.
The same is to be said when you start following Christ. You are no longer the same as you used to be. Thus, you don't do or engage in the same things as you used to!
Just like the remote, those old things of the old you are no longer capable of functioning with the new you that Christ bestowed you.
So, why do we keep the same old belief's about our selves?
The same old habits that we used to engage in?
Why do we hold to any rule or moral that is NOT of God?
The bible verse continues to talk about how God has reconciled humankind to Himself! Think about it, God sent Jesus to give us a new start!
To say, I forgive you and the life you feel trapped in is no longer capable of keeping you from being with me. Your sins are gone. He gave us a new life and told us to throw the old remote away!
He looked past all of the sins that have ever been committed against him and he said "You are my creation, I love you."
Then, through Jesus, God commissioned us, committed us to spreading this message of reconciliation to the rest of the world.
Here is how i see it, God gave us the choice to die to our selves, have our sins forgiven and then assume the task of spreading God's love and justice throughout the world.
Dying to ourselves doesn't end with our decision to believe in Christ. It doesn't end with going to church every Sunday to strengthen your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It doesn't end with our weekly bible study where we hide all our imperfections so that we are not shuned from the group. And it doesn't end with reading our bible every single day!
Being made a new creation starts with our decision to believe in Christ. It starts with our decision to move an ACTION oriented faith. In other words, one can only truly believe in Christ and follow him if they are will to be covered in HIS dust.
If you are to be of Christ, you must be willing to do as Christ. The bible was not around during the time of Jesus. They had the Torah.
Most of the Torah, our Old Testament, is about ACTION. It is about doing something, showing something, giving something. It's about bring the Love of Christ to those who aren't loved and the Justice of Jesus to those whom are oppressed.
Our new life, our new self is not about making sure you can enter heaven as the person who knows the most bible verse or who has the most detailed flannel-graph.
It's about sitting with the oraph who just lost both of their parents because of AIDS.
About cooking a meal for the widow who just lost her husband of 30 years and doesn't have any way of providing for her five children.
Bringing the love and justice of God is about standing up for what is wrong. For what is inhumane.
Loving somebody is more than just saying you love them. Why do you think God sent Jesus to die for us on the cross. Love is action, Justice is the result of that action.
Jesus was always doing something for somebody else. He will always be about doing something more!
Here is the scary thing, THOSE WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO FOLLOW CHRIST ARE THE EXAMPLES FOR GOD'S LOVE AND JUSTICE!
GOD has chosen to reveal himself to the world through US! Think about the complexity and the seriousness of that statement!
GOD HAS CHOSEN US TO bring LOVE AND JUSTICE to the world. Jesus commissioned us to do this!
So i ask you, Today, how are you going to bring honest and true love/justice to the world in which God has placed u?!
Blessings
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)